Random EV thoughts.....

Much as I have watched probably weeks of Bjorn content over the years, and he seems a very smart guy, he has made stupid decisions and these are the consequences

If I go to Vegas and burn a years salary then no one will help me out, you got to live with the consequences of your actions

More info on the joint venture between Rivian and VW

https://www.electrive.com/2024/06/26/volkswagen-group-invest-5-bn-rivian-software-e-e-architecture/

Looks like VW's internal software group Cariad has largely been cut out and the new partnership will handle software for the next generation of VW platforms

While it doesn't work out well for Cariad, it's probably a win overall for both companies as VW gets access to an already developed software stack (which generally seems to have excellent software). Rivian also gets an influx of cash when it badly needs it

He definitely made some mistakes though, buying stuff for the house before paying off the high interest loan. A lot of us who have bought houses lived for a few years with the cheapest IKEA furniture available simply because we can't afford more

Pretty much this. We bought this house (our 1st) in May 2014, furnished it with Ikea/Harvey Norman stuff, plus the stuff we already owned from while renting (TV, beds, bedside lockers, chest of drawers etc…), and then our sole focus was to pay off the mortgage as quick as possible, which we did after 8yrs & 11 months thanks to consistent overpayments of around 150% on top of our monthly repayments. Anything we bought since living here was contingent on it not affecting our ability to overpay the mortgage at the rate we were overpaying it… so I bought a boat, then we bought the Tesla, Installed solar PV, then we bought a house in Lithuania & furnished it… but through all of that, we were fixated on clearing the mortgage asap… which we did. And we still have all the original furniture we bought… some of which is due an upgrade soon enough, but with a 9yo, the longer we keep that stuff, the better it'll work out for its replacements chances of survivability…

We desperately need a new back garden, but we want 'the dream' back garden which might cost us €30k-€40k, and while we had the mortgage we didn't even discuss it that much… but now the house loan is taken care of, we now have that ability to think further about doing the back garden.. but to do it while we still had a mortgage…. not a chance in hell.

I bet the not so fine print is it's limited by milage.

I'll not be listening, as its a soul destroying show to commit your time to, but I'd say you're right.

And to be honest, if it is that, then it's not fine print, it's always up front and known. You always hear "8yr, or 160,000km warranty " quite openly.

Except the part timer isn't working.

Like most of the 'big talent'.

Expect to see Tommy Mescal anchoring the news in studio very soon. Only time he gets indoors.

I get a “video is private” message when I try to view. Is it working for you now?

Well I didn't mention Dacia, then again it's not surprising that you'd bring it up given that Dacia lives rent free in the heads of EV zealots. Combine that with me describing EVs as appliances and I suppose the upset is understandable.

Seeing as you love EVs so much, do YOU watch all of Bjorn's videos for entertainment or any other purpose. That'll help him make enough money to pay his debts and keep making videos. If not, nothing stopping you from donating money to help him pay for curtains for his house.

I signed up to his Patreon yesterday, €5 per month. I'll keep it going for a year since he basically did a lot of independent research which helped me when buying the ID.4

Paying back a few euros seems fair. I agree he'd be better off pushing platforms like Patreon or GoFundMe, getting €5 from 20k fans is a lot more realistic than asking for a loan

He’s also a huge advertisement for a driving holiday to Norway…

Was literally discussing it the other day that I’d love to visit because of the stunning scenery.

and yeah, the Elon thing wouldn’t be out of the realms of possibility. I’d say Bjorn is directly responsible for millions of dollars in sales for Tesla…

Being a content creator will become increasingly challenging as we could be faced with most of YT and the like being generative AI content in a couple of years, god forbid.

Funnily enough he always complains about the snow and slush in winter, so not showing the best of Norway there

But yeah after watching some of his road trips I'd love to do a road trip through Norway and Sweden

I think he's a victim of the success of EVs, ranges have gotten longer and charging has improved to the point where 1000km drives aren't really a challenge

I suspect a lot of his viewers are people tuning in for specific cars or brands. I'll often watch the VW content for example but I've no interest in any of the Chinese brands content (I just don't like their cars)

He's been diversifying his content recently with the more family blog type stuff, possibly in response

I noticed the BYD Seal 1000km challenge got posted, so he hasn't given up yet

Seems as though also he had all his eggs in one basket. He should of tried to diversify at the peak of his fame.

If all your income is dependent upon YT content, you are at the mercy, as he and many others have discovered, of YouTube deciding unilaterally modify T&Cs anytime that may have an adversely impact.